The phrase ‘subjective photography’ was first heard in the 1940s in Germany. It was exclusively attached to a bunch of photographers called the ‘Fotoform Group’. Theirs was an experimental kind of photography which did not care much about either the technical finesse or the aesthetic norms associated with the art. One could call it a kind of manifestation of the urge to self-express. This is precisely the reason that a two-part collaborative exhibition, organised by the Institut fur Auslandsbeziehungen from December 1-15 at the VM Art Gallery, Karachi and Goethe Institut, Karachi (from December 2) aimed at providing a look into the German contribution to the international movement of subjective photography (1948-1963) got art lovers excited.

There were more than 100 exhibits on display at the VM and all of them were a treat to see. There was a wide variety of topics touched upon through brilliant photographs. Be it the perusal of the post-war German cities or the serenity of Cologne in the ’50s, be it old age predicaments or portraits of known individuals, be it the common man’s plight or a famous American politician’s visit to Germany, all subjects were dealt within a way that they signified an entire era by virtue of a single still shot.

Herman Claasen masterfully captured the destruction caused by a war and the subsequent efforts to clear things up in ‘Disabled war veteran in rubble-cleared high street’ (1945). Not too far away from it was exhibited, ‘Night view of Cologne as seen across the Rhine at Deutz’ (1950) by Chargesheimer. The reason for mentioning them together is that both depict a region which in a span of few years looked altogether different because of the changing times.

If the viewer wanted a real experimental image, Peter Keetman’s ‘Hands’ (1948) was there. In today’s context, the picture might not prove that untried, but bearing in mind that it was taken more than a half a century back, it would surely take many by surprise.

The second phase of the exhibition at the Goethe Institut was no different. One photo that caught almost all the viewer’s attention was ‘Blind leper with daughter’ (1961) by Guido Mangold. It was taken in South India and despite a lapse of 50 years the shot looked contemporary and equally heart-wrenching. Such is/was the artistry of subjective photography.